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dis·card | \ dis-ˈkärd 
, ˈdis-ˌkärd \
, ˈdis-ˌkärd \discarded; discarding; discards
Definition of discard
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : to get rid of especially as useless or unwanted
a pile of discarded tires They quickly discarded the idea.
2a : to remove (a playing card) from one's hand (see hand entry 1 sense 7a(1))
discarded an ace
b : to play (any card except a trump) from a suit different from the one led
: to discard a playing card
discard at the end of your turn
discard
noundis·card | \ ˈdis-ˌkärd \
\Definition of discard (Entry 2 of 2)
1a : the act of removing a playing card from one's hand : the act of discarding (see discard entry 1 sense 2a)
b : a card discarded
collected the discards
2 : one that is cast off or rejected
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Other Words from discard
Verb
discardable \ dis-ˈkärd-də-bəl , ˈdis-ˌkär- \ adjective
, ˈdis-ˌkär- \ adjectivediscarder noun
Synonyms for discard
Synonyms: Verb
- cashier,
- cast (off),
- chuck,
- deep-six,
- ditch,
- dump,
- eighty-six
- (or 86),
- exorcise
- (also exorcize),
- fling (off or away),
- jettison,
- junk,
- lay by,
- lose,
- pitch,
- reject,
- scrap,
- shed,
- shuck (off),
- slough (off)
- also sluff (off),
- throw away,
- throw out,
- toss,
- unload
Synonyms: Noun
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Examples of discard in a Sentence
Verb
Remove and discard the stems.
a pile of discarded tires
She discarded the six of hearts. Noun
toss all of your discards in the garbage
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Recent Examples on the Web: Verb During his first year running Canes for Veterans Central Texas, Willis simply collected discarded trees and wood from his neighborhood.
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Caitlin O'kane, CBS News, "Texas man makes free canes for veterans in need using discarded Christmas trees," 7 Jan. 2020 Fellow mathematicians couldn’t figure out why Simons had discarded a thriving career to sit in a makeshift office in a dreary Long Island strip mall, next to a women’s clothing boutique and two doors down from a pizza joint, losing money.
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Gregory Zuckerman, Quartz, "The history of blunders and missteps that led to the quant trading revolution," 6 Nov. 2019 The jersey might have been discarded if not for fellow Punahou alum Peter Noble.
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Allen Kim, CNN, "President Obama's high school basketball jersey nets $120,000 at auction," 19 Aug. 2019 To say Sleater-Kinney has discarded its essence would be wrong, too.
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Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Sleater-Kinney Lost Its Chaos Before It Lost Its Drummer," 16 Aug. 2019 In general, upcycled describes what happens when an item that has been discarded, such as an old inner tube, is repurposed into a higher quality product such as a handbag made from that inner tube.
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SELF, "These Companies Are Trying to Get You to Buy Food That’s Made With Scraps," 1 Aug. 2019 While an earlier proposal for a tax of one cent per ounce on sugary beverages has been discarded, a new 1 percent tax would be charged on all prepared foods, including soda dispensed from a fountain at a fast food restaurant.
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Christopher Keating, courant.com, "Senate approves two-year, $43 billion state budget; Gov. Lamont expected to sign," 5 June 2019 Remove from oven, discard thyme and bay leaves, and sprinkle with fresh tarragon.
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The Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, Good Housekeeping, "Coq au Vin Rosé," 21 Dec. 2019 Remove the turkey from the brine (discard the brine) and place it breast-side down in a roasting pan (without a rack). Pour the sauce over it and around it.
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Leilani Marie Labong, SFChronicle.com, "Bay Area chef welcomes pavo borracho, or drunken turkey, to Christmas table," 20 Dec. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Alice changes size, Medusa can turn foes to stone, Sinbad grows in strength as more voyage cards hit the discard pile, and King Arthur utilizes the Lady of the Lake and Excalibur to great effect.
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Charlie Theel, Ars Technica, "Unmatched: Battle of Legends," 14 Dec. 2019 High-grading or culling and discarding fish works against us if the discards don’t survive.
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Frank Sargeant, al, "Alabama anglers stay within red snapper quota," 11 Dec. 2019 The team’s onetime burning question sits under all the rubble of the first two weeks, when the woeful Dolphins were outscored, 102-10, traded two of their best players, and signed 13 players off the discard pile of other teams.
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Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, "Column: Josh Rosen takes over as Dolphins starting quarterback, but it’s no big deal," 19 Sep. 2019 Cornerbacks Bradley Roby and Johnathan Joseph are ailing, and the Texans have had to rely on discards such as recently signed former Buccaneers first-round pick Vernon Hargreaves.
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BostonGlobe.com, "Given the opposition, look for Sunday to be the Patriots’ best all-around win of the season - The Boston Globe," 29 Nov. 2019 Epstein remedied this immediately, bringing in the likes of Bill Mueller, Mike Timlin, Kevin Millar, Todd Walker, and a Twins discard by the name of David Americo Ortiz in his first offseason.
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BostonGlobe.com, "When 28-year-old Theo Epstein was named the general manager of the Red Sox in November 2002, the mission statement was slightly but irrefutably different than what it is for 36-year-old Chaim Bloom, who was named the Red Sox’ chief baseball officer Monday.," 30 Oct. 2019 Nathan says the discard rate for a kidney with a high KDPI is in the range of 40% to 50%.
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Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, "US discards thousands of donated kidneys each year as patients die on waitlist, study says," 29 Aug. 2019 East can take the queen and shift to diamonds, but South wins and leads his jack of hearts to set up dummy’s king for a diamond discard.
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Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, "Bridge: July 8, 2019," 8 July 2019 Gradually, the meaning of discard broadened to include rejection beyond card-playing.
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San Diego Union-Tribune, "English lays its cards on the table of our tongue," 27 July 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'discard.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for discard
discard
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of discard
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to throw (something) away because it is useless or unwanted
: to remove (a playing card) from your hand in a card game
discard
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of discard (Entry 2 of 2)
: something (such as a playing card) that has been discarded
See the full definition for discard in the English Language Learners Dictionary
discard
verbdis·card | \ di-ˈskärd \
\discarded; discarding
Kids Definition of discard
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : to get rid of as useless or unwanted
2 : to throw down an unwanted card from a hand of cards
discard
noundis·card | \ ˈdi-ˌskärd \
\Kids Definition of discard (Entry 2 of 2)
: something thrown away or rejected
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Comments on discard
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Time Traveler for discard
The first known use of discard was circa 1586
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